Torrey Pines grads make Forbes 30 under 30 list in science

Two Torrey Pines High School graduates were named to the Forbes list of 30 under 30 in science for 2022.

Amin Aalipour, class of 2010, and Elora López-Nandam, class of 2011, both found out they had been included in December, when the list was released.

Aalipour is a resident physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

Amin Aalipour

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He said he was shocked to be on the 30 under 30 list. His work and goals for the future involve early cancer detection and working with patients.

“The physician scientists I interacted with early on, I think they really exemplify the values I try to live my life by,” Aalipour said. “That’s meticulousness, discipline, diligence. Those are values I’ve always appreciated. And then on the medicine side, it’s working with compassion, empathy, genuineness.”

López-Nandam, a postdoctoral researcher at the California Academy of Sciences, also said it was “very surprising and very exciting” to learn she made the list.

Elora López-Nandam

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Her background is in evolutionary biology and using genetic tools to understand evolution and conservation of marine life, and her work includes sequencing the genomes of coral to find resilient breeds, in response to rising temperatures and lower ocean pH that threaten coral reefs.

“Whatever I do moving forward, I hope that it makes a positive impact in the world,” she said. “There are so many different things that can and should be addressed by evolutionary biologists, from climate change, to disease, to all sorts of other things right now. My hope is to be able to use the knowledge and expertise I’ve gained up to this point to make some kind of positive change.”